--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So perhaps the best resource is to meet…" description: "\"“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of an animal, to feel n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg" --- # So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything… ![“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of an animal, to feel no compunction, with your own hand to throttle down whatever ghostly life remains in you.” quote by Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg) > ““So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of an animal, to feel no compunction, with your own hand to throttle down whatever ghostly life remains in you.”” [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote suggests that passive observation and emotional disengagement turn a person into a lifeless observer, suppressing inner vitality. **In simple terms:** Being passive makes you numb and inactive. Key Takeaway Avoid passive disengagement; stay emotionally engaged. Themes passivity observation existentialism Mood detached reflective Type philosophical existential When to use this quote - social gatherings - work environments - personal reflection - creative pursuits Key Concepts nihilism self-awareness psychological detachment Questions to Reflect On - How does passivity affect your sense of purpose? - What steps can you take to stay actively engaged? A Different Perspective Passive stance can lead to missed opportunities and loss of agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Apathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Passively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/passively/) ## Related quotes > [I feel no compunction to defend L.A. People criticize it, and for the most part, it's well-founded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-d/i-feel-no-compunction-to-defend-l-a-people-criticize-it-and-for-the/) [Mike D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-d/) > [“I long for you; I who usually longs without longing, as though I am unconscious and absorbed in neutrality and apathy, really, utterly long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-long-for-you-i-who-usually-longs-without-longing-as-though-i-am/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [A man who is really earnest must begin with himself, he must be passively aware of all his thoughts, feelings and actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-man-who-is-really-earnest-must-begin-with-himself-he-must-be/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [“We can passively take our place in the negative chain, accepting the harm to ourselves and passing it on to others. Or we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-archera-huxley/we-can-passively-take-our-place-in-the-negative-chain-accepting-the/) Laura Archera Huxley > [What I think makes people nerds is just being obsessive. I think that's what nerdiness really is - its people who don't just passively…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-posehn/what-i-think-makes-people-nerds-is-just-being-obsessive-i-think-that/) [Brian Posehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-posehn/) > [A culture is like an immune system. It operates through the laws of systems, just like a body. If a body has an infection,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cloud/a-culture-is-like-an-immune-system-it-operates-through-the-laws-of/) [Henry Cloud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cloud/) > [Conformity—the natural instinct to passively yield to that vague something recognized as authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/conformity-the-natural-instinct-to-passively-yield-to-that-vague/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Feelings come to us, passively; love comes from us, actively, by our free choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/feelings-come-to-us-passively-love-comes-from-us-actively-by-our-free/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [People are just passively accepting what you tell them, so if you are on TV there is that greater responsibility to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derren-brown/people-are-just-passively-accepting-what-you-tell-them-so-if-you-are/) [Derren Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derren-brown/) > [“To let oneself be carried on passively is unthinkable. ‘That’s your course, world,’ one says, ‘mine is this.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/to-let-oneself-be-carried-on-passively-is-unthinkable-that-s-your/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [The most important thing I learned is that when you are actively learning about someone else you are passively teaching them about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/the-most-important-thing-i-learned-is-that-when-you-are-actively/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [When you exercise your will power you release the power of life energy - not when you merely wish passively to be able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/when-you-exercise-your-will-power-you-release-the-power-of-life/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [I still like to get carried away - but passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-plant/i-still-like-to-get-carried-away-but-passively/) [Robert Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-plant/) > [It is dangerous to maintain equality at the cost of placing the pieces passively.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-karpov/it-is-dangerous-to-maintain-equality-at-the-cost-of-placing-the/) [Anatoly Karpov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-karpov/) > [Not actively surviving is passively dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ori-hofmekler/not-actively-surviving-is-passively-dying/) [Ori Hofmekler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ori-hofmekler/) ## More by Franz Kafka > [ “The tremendous world I have inside my head. But how \[to\] free myself and free it without being torn to pieces. And a thousand… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-tremendous-world-i-have-inside-my-head-but-how-to-free-myself-and/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [What I write is different from what I say, what I say is different from what I think, what I think is different from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/what-i-write-is-different-from-what-i-say-what-i-say-is-different/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“A fine setting for a fit of despair,” it occurred to him, “if I were only standing here by accident instead of design.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/a-fine-setting-for-a-fit-of-despair-it-occurred-to-him-if-i-were-only/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Ali svi se slažu u tome da se ne podižu lakomislene optužbe i da se sud, kad jedanput nekog optuži i kad je uvjeren…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/ali-svi-se-sla-u-u-tome-da-se-ne-podi-u-lakomislene-optu-be-i-da-se/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [My job is unbearable to me because it conflicts with my only desire and my only calling, which is literature. Since I am nothing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/my-job-is-unbearable-to-me-because-it-conflicts-with-my-only-desire/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Faith, like a guillotine. As heavy, as light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/faith-like-a-guillotine-as-heavy-as-light/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [You need not even listen, just wait...the world will offer itself freely to you, unmasking itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/you-need-not-even-listen-just-wait-the-world-will-offer-itself-freely/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“I will cross hundreds of seas and oceans without sinking to reach you, see your eyes and sink completely into their depths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-will-cross-hundreds-of-seas-and-oceans-without-sinking-to-reach-you/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [I have no memory for things I have learned, nor things I have read, nor things experienced or heard, neither for people nor events;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/i-have-no-memory-for-things-i-have-learned-nor-things-i-have-read-nor/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“This sounds crazy, but it is so. Nor is it perhaps really love when I say that for me you are the most beloved;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/this-sounds-crazy-but-it-is-so-nor-is-it-perhaps-really-love-when-i/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The more horses you yoke the quicker everything will go - not the rending of the block from its foundation, which is impossible, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-more-horses-you-yoke-the-quicker-everything-will-go-not-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [The true way goes over a line that, rather than spanning heights, is hardly above the ground. It appears more decidedly to make one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/the-true-way-goes-over-a-line-that-rather-than-spanning-heights-is/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [Every new discovery is assumed at once into the sum total of knowledge, and with that ceases in a sense to be a discovery;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/every-new-discovery-is-assumed-at-once-into-the-sum-total-of/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [“Sou de pedra. Sou a minha própria pedra tumular, sem nenhum interstício para a dúvida ou para a fé, para o amor ou para…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/sou-de-pedra-sou-a-minha-pr-pria-pedra-tumular-sem-nenhum-interst-cio/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) [Explore all 741 Franz Kafka quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More Apathy quotes > [If possible, I want to hear POLITICS defined without either sympathy or apathy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/if-possible-i-want-to-hear-politics-defined-without-either-sympathy/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [One response was given by the innkeeper when Mary and Joseph wanted to find a room where the Child could be born. The innkeeper…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/one-response-was-given-by-the-innkeeper-when-mary-and-joseph-wanted/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [Try to greet troubles with apathy. Hello's are never what they used to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-swellers/try-to-greet-troubles-with-apathy-hello-s-are-never-what-they-used-to/) [The Swellers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-swellers/) > [Apathy can be overcome by enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-j-toynbee/apathy-can-be-overcome-by-enthusiasm/) [Arnold J. Toynbee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-j-toynbee/) > [Indifference must be a crime in us, to be ranked but one degree below treachery; for deserting the commonwealth is next to betraying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/indifference-must-be-a-crime-in-us-to-be-ranked-but-one-degree-below/) [Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-st-john-1st-viscount-bolingbroke/) > [Insect politics, indifferent universe. Bang your head against the wall, but apathy is worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-henley/insect-politics-indifferent-universe-bang-your-head-against-the-wall/) [Don Henley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-henley/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [For he who is not deaf, half a silence is enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/for-he-who-is-not-deaf-half-a-silence-is-enough/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [“Just because a person is silent doesn’t mean there’s no message.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-sonnenberg/just-because-a-person-is-silent-doesn-t-mean-there-s-no-message/) [Frank Sonnenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-sonnenberg/) > [“If someone with a high level of authority were to ask me, "Suzy, how can we make people so incredibly stupid and apathetic, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/if-someone-with-a-high-level-of-authority-were-to-ask-me-suzy-how-can/) [Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/) > [“It takes more than one kick in the pants to reverse a lifetime of unplanned apathy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-neilan/it-takes-more-than-one-kick-in-the-pants-to-reverse-a-lifetime-of/) [Paul Neilan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-neilan/) > [“Use the apathy of your logic to solve your problems and then the passion of your soul to enjoy life after that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/use-the-apathy-of-your-logic-to-solve-your-problems-and-then-the/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [“The fundamental basis by which the court’s decision might be made is, in itself, imperfect and subject to contradictions. There is very little consideration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashim-shanker/the-fundamental-basis-by-which-the-court-s-decision-might-be-made-is/) [Ashim Shanker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashim-shanker/) > [“The young woman had read a good many novels, and she had seen a good many films; this education by newspaper, serial and film…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-renard/the-young-woman-had-read-a-good-many-novels-and-she-had-seen-a-good/) [Maurice Renard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-renard/) > [Mourn not the dead that in the cool earth lie... But rather mourn the apathetic throng - The cowed and the meek - Who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-chaplin/mourn-not-the-dead-that-in-the-cool-earth-lie-but-rather-mourn-the/) [Ralph Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-chaplin/) [Browse all 619 Apathy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/apathy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at others with the eyes of an animal, to feel no compunction, with your own hand to throttle down whatever ghostly life remains in you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Franz Kafka" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Apathy" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d2f/franz-kafka-214_apathy_so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet_192068.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So perhaps the best resource is to meet everything passively, to make yourself an inert mass, to stare at…” — Franz Kafka", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Franz Kafka", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So perhaps the best resource is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/so-perhaps-the-best-resource-is-to-meet-everything-passively-to-make/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```